Recent Interviews
Fears over US energy security help unlock historic $369bn climate bill
Environment experts welcome emissions reductions promised as ‘significant and unprecedented’ President Joe Biden’s original Build Back Better plan had originally earmarked $555bn but at $369bn the new bill will still be the largest…
Climate activists’ plot to make liberal politicians squirm
Jennifer Falcon, a climate and Indigenous rights organizer in San Antonio, Texas, worries constantly about the impacts of climate change on her community, such as water restrictions and a possible collapse of the electric grid…
Democrats: Don’t just declare a climate emergency — make clean energy a winning campaign issue
The decision by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to walk away from more than a year of negotiations over a landmark clean energy legislation is a bitter pill for President Biden and other Democrats who made passing effective…
Dems stare into climate abyss
Democrats have had a week to digest the demise of their climate bill. They’re facing the prospect of yet another decade of congressional inaction at a time when consequences of global warming are growing more…
RADIO: BBC Climate Change Legislation
Starting at minute 31:23 Paul Bledsoe discusses what it will take to cut emissions in the US…
Why Biden’s climate agenda has faltered
President Joe Biden ran for office on a pledge to tackle the global climate crisis. Instead, he has seen his legislative ambitions defeated by Congress, the Supreme Court has delivered a hammer blow to the federal government’s ability to regulate greenhouse…
Here’s what could happen if Biden declares a climate emergency
Climate change, as many activists and politicians say, is an emergency. President Biden may soon make that official. Biden is weighing declaring a national climate emergency, an extraordinary move that would allow the president to tap…
Gridlock in Washington imperils the US Paris climate targets
Commitments to reduce emissions in jeopardy after senator Joe Manchin scuppers crucial legislation West Virginia senator Joe Manchin refused to back nearly $300bn in tax incentives for clean energy as part of a flagship bill this summer…
‘A modern-day villain’: Joe Manchin condemned for killing US climate action
Joe Manchin’s decision to kill off sweeping US climate legislation has been called “nothing short of a death sentence” for younger people and a livable climate on Earth, amid an outpouring of anger and despair from activists, scientists and even…
How One Senator Doomed the Democrats’ Climate Plan
First, he killed a plan that would have forced power plants to clean up their climate-warming pollution. Then, he shattered an effort to help consumers pay for electric vehicles. And, finally, he said he could not support government incentives for solar and…
As UK conservatives dump Johnson, most in GOP still embrace Trump’s far graver threat
Winston Churchill, the figure embattled UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims as his role model, once defined a politician as someone who “is asked to stand, wants to sit, and is expected to lie.” Yet in the end, Johnson’s…
The climate clock is ticking for Dems
Last week’s Supreme Court defeat for the Biden administration has progressives pushing for Congress to take back the initiative on climate change — and pass laws that would stand the test of time…
Democrats in Congress, not courts or GOP, must address climate — a good bill is waiting
The Supreme Court decision this week to restrict federal regulatory authority over carbon dioxide emissions from power plants should provide Democrats in Congress the last impetus they need to finally act on comprehensive climate change legislation. And…
How millions of lives can be saved if the US acts now on climate
The rapidly shrinking window of opportunity for the US to pass significant climate legislation will have mortal, as well as political, stakes. Millions of lives around the world will be saved, or lost, depending on whether America manages to propel itself…
Methane leak at Russian mine could be largest ever discovered
Possibly the world’s biggest leak of methane has been discovered coming from a coal mine in Russia, which has been pouring out the carbon dioxide equivalent of five coal-fired power stations. About 90 tones an hour of methane were being…
Why an energy crisis and $5 gas aren’t spurring a green revolution
Big solar projects are facing major delays. Plans to adapt the grid to clean energy are confronting mountains of red tape. Affordable electric vehicles are in short supply…
Democrats must limit oil shocks along with climate risks
Energy issues are defining U.S. consumer, economic and security challenges more profoundly than any time since the oil embargoes of the 1970s. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has placed enormous pressure on global oil and…
Are high energy prices displacing climate action in Congress?
Progressives and environmental advocates made huge gains in the 2020 campaign by pushing climate change to the forefront, but they are increasingly concerned that high energy prices and calls for greater fossil fuel production could destroy those hard-fought wins.
Europe’s Quest to Replace Russian Gas Faces Plenty of Hurdles
Russia’s natural-gas supplies have become a tool of leverage in its conflict with Europe over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And the stakes are high for Europe, which relies on Russia for 40 percent of the…
Are EV tax credits back on the table? Maybe
President Joe Biden last year scored record funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, but his proposal to lower the sticker price for zero-emission cars and trucks all but died on the vine — threatening the pace of consumer adoption…
Gas Is a Better Option Than Coal on Our Path to Draw Down Emissions
As the climate crisis worsens, the debate over emissions from natural gas is heating up, too. Unfortunately, both gas opponents and gas supporters have been cherry-picking the data, especially regarding the lifecycle emissions of…
Energy permitting is broken: New analytics can fix it
The energy permitting reforms included in the recent bipartisan budget agreement represented modest progress — but they didn’t fix the problem. The main challenge, and the huge economic opportunity, is the…
Billionaire investor threatens to pull out of UK amid global outcry at new oil rush
A billionaire global investor has led international condemnation of the UK’s new oil rush, saying he would pull his major investment from the country if the prime minister pursued “clickbait” fossil fuel policies…
How can UK political parties win support for a bold green agenda?
The most important thing is to make clear that action on climate change will materially improve people’s lives. Insulation can mean warmer homes in winter, cooler homes in summer. Better air quality, greener cities…
Sleepwalking Toward Climate Catastrophe
The last few weeks have brought unprecedented high temperatures in the U.S. and globally, including the four hottest days in a row worldwide ever in recorded history…
Kerry’s visit to China ends with no major agreements
The United States and China ended three days of climate meetings with no concrete outcomes, but have agreed to continue talking ahead of pivotal global climate negotiations this fall…
High stakes for Biden, King Charles in climate talks
Climate finance took center stage Monday during President Joe Biden’s visit to Windsor Castle, his first meeting with King Charles III since the British monarch’s coronation in May. The topic was a symbolic choice…
A Trade-Based Climate Policy Can Cut Emissions Globally
The recent reopening of diplomatic dialogue by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese leaders highlighted the enormous importance of climate change action by the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters. But it did not yield…
Former Biden and Clinton Officials Push for Harmony on CBAMS
A new proposal from the Progressive Policy Institute recommends the U.S., EU, and broader G-7 establish an “Alliance for Clean Trade” to get on the same page as they develop and implement carbon border adjustment mechanisms…
Advocates see Biden, not Congress, as key to carbon tariffs
With bipartisan interest on Capitol Hill growing around the concept of carbon tariffs, two off-Hill advocates are floating a plan to tie trade policy to climate action. The catch is that the proposal would effectively circumvent Congress…
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